'Apple is un-American': Fortnite CEO Tim Sweeney takes a dig at tech giants for forcing 'monopoly'

For quite some time now, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, has been vocal about the "unfair" 30% fee that Apple imposes on applications that are hosted on their platform. And now, the Fortnite vs Apple and Google ordeal has reached its breaking point.

Both the tech conglomerates have chosen to throw the Battle Royale game out of their stores (for the time being).

For the uninitiated, Apple's decision to de-list the BR game came shortly after Epic added a 'Direct Payment' option for mobile users. This was intended to allow Fortnite players to buy V-Bucks, the in-game currency, at cheaper rates. Shortly after, Google followed in their rival’s footsteps, removing the game from their Play Store.

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'That’s totally un-American and un-competitive': Tim Sweeney

In an interview with Bloomberg, which now serves as a prelude to the ongoing fiasco, Tim Sweeney blasted Apple for their exorbitant hosting fee.

"The problem with the 30% Apple and Google charge is that it is completely disconnected with any of their costs, and at Epic, we know this. We run a store and Epic have processed a billion dollars worth of direct transactions between players and companies, and we know the cost of operating a store," he said.

"Apple and Google have way higher economies of scale. If you break the cost by components, it has nothing to do with these rents that the two are charging people," Sweeney added.

While on the topic, he also talked about how monopolistic market strategies could end up hurting everyone involved in the chain. When asked for further comment, the Fortnite CEO agreed that the two companies have formed a 'duopoly' of sorts, where Apple and Google are the companies that essentially control 100% of the smartphone market.

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But why did Fortnite get banned from Apple and Google?

Here is why Fortnite was banned from Apple store (Image Credits: Epic Games)

If it isn’t already evident, Fortnite's 'Direct Payment' endeavor did not sit well with both the tech giants. To put it simply, Epic Games' payment portal essentially leaves no room for the tech giants to make their 30% off the game, rendering it 'useless' for them.

To make matters worse for Apple, Epic shed light on how it doesn't block all apps from processing Direct Payments. You can read more about it on their press FAQ section here.